PORTERVILLE POST | The Right News at the Right Time

| 12 Expressions of the Redeemed - Part 3
The Right Word^© - Sep 22, 2024
with Brother Scott : scott@portervillepost.com

† 1 Chronicles 16:7 Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the LORD into the hand of Asaph and his brethren. 8 Give thanks…call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. 9 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works. 10 Glory ye (halal: to be clear, shine by making a show, boast, rave, celebrate) in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice (be bright, gleesome, joyful, merry) that seek the LORD. . .

This term “glory ye” is the Hebrew word halal, and is translated into English throughout the Old Testament as: Praise, to glory in, boast, shine, commend, and celebrate our God and Redeemer.

How many of you have ever thought within your heart or said or sung out loud “Hallelujah”?

That single English word in its original language is “Halal, Oh Jah!”; it means “Praise ye, Jah”, which [Jah] is an abbreviated version of Jehovah. Its Greek counterpart “alleluia” is used 4 times in the New Testament with all four found in Revelation 19.

Here in 1 Chronicles 16:10 we see more of the ways that David expressed himself, which is to think, exclaim & sing “Hallelujah”, and we should also and often in some form.

† Psalm 106:1 Praise ye (halal) the LORD (Jah). O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

† Psalm 111:1 Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation. 2 The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. 3 His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever. 4 He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.

† Romans 15:5 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: 6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. 8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: 9 And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. 10 And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. 11 And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people.

† Revelation 19:1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: 2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. 3 And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. 4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. 5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. 6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. 7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him. . .

“PRAISE THE LORD!”
And so, for most Christians with an active mind and “a heart after God” and our Redeemer, it is not at all uncommon to hear us say either “Praise the Lord!” or its equivalent, “Hallelujah!” If you are not used to saying such things, I urge you to practice because as you’ve just heard from Revelation 19, the saved of God in Heaven and throughout eternity will be saying it a lot!

† Psalm 89:1 I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. . . 5 And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints.

† 1 Chronicles 16:10 Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. 11 Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.

“SEEK THE LORD!”
Notice here that those that “seek the Lord” are instructed to rejoice in their seeking God. The heart that does rejoice while it is seeking the Lord is a heart and mind that has some history and experience with God; it’s a man or woman that has come to know that He is God, that His Word is true, and that God loves him and her. There is to be joy associated in our looking to Him, no matter the purpose of our reaching out to God—a rejoicing in the 24/7 reality that we can go to the Lord for His comfort and fellowship, for needed help and wisdom, in prayer for our loved ones and friends, and for our defense against the enemies of our lives.
To just turn and look to the Lord is one thing (a starting place for the inexperienced), many only do it when the chips are really down, but for those that seek the Lord for no particular reason and for all reasons with rejoicing is an act of faith resulting from a growing experience and history with God and our Redeemer.
We know from our past experiences (or we are supposed to) that He is hearing, that He cares, that He is able, and that all things work together for our good when we faithfully walk before Him.
As a professing follower of Jesus Christ, to think that in our lives we can have a merry and sort of care-free heart with nary a thought of the Lord, nor including Him in our daily lives, is just-not-possible. In cases where we are glad about something that involves no thought or inward boasting of God, that gladness is a counterfeit of joy that we call happiness, and being happy is totally dependent on our circumstances and is transitive; being happy is a passing state of mind due to a favorable event and not a lasting hour-after-day-after-week condition of the mind and heart.
But the heart that can rejoice (has a glow, is generally merry) has at its core joy in the Lord (the Greek root of rejoice), which joy by one biblical definition means “calm delight”, intended by God to be the resident background state of the redeemed heart. Therefore, we are to be instructed here in verses 10 and 11 and many other places in the Word of God that if you would like to be consistently in a good spirit from deep within—then in all aspects of your daily life, thoughts of the Lord and His nearness to help will not be far from your mind.
David recorded, “Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD” (baqash: to search out [by any method: esp. worship or prayer; fasting, patiently waiting], to strive after [implying mind and heart effort]. Then David adds, “Seek (darash: to pursue or search for, with frequency follow, ask of, worship [meaning an often mind and heart effort]) the LORD and his strength, seek (baqash) his face continually.”
You and I breathe in oxygen continually and our hearts pump life-sustaining blood to all parts of our body continually—yet these things are done without conscious effort; our bodies were created in such a way as to have these critical things happen from birth to our death automatically.
As the redeemed of the Lord, we are to intended to spiritually grow to the place where our looking to God for help, where our personal times of unscheduled, informal praise and worship of Him, and where our knee-jerk turning to Him in times of stress are to be au-to-matic—and with calm delight (rejoicing) by our knowledge and expectation that He is right here--right now for us. We turn our faces to Him and not first to the world.

† Isaiah 31:1 Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!

† Deuteronomy 4: [In God’s warning to His people about their (our) sins:] 29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. 30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; 31 (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

† Psalm 105:3 Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. 4 Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.

† Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart [Deut. 4:29; phrase used 27 times].

In his psalm instructing God’s people to seek the Lord, with one of the words “seek” meaning to “do so frequently”, David adds one more word to reinforce that thought about seeking:

† 1 Chronicles 16:10 ... let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. 11 Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually (constantly, regular daily sacrifice [of our mind and will]). . .

“The Expressions of The Redeemed”
For the things I have been talking to you about, I just added a finer point about true believers and that is the need to have a personal history with God and part of that history involves the believer’s experience with Him (or the experiences in life that have included God). To enter into the things we have been discussing that are some of “the expressions of the redeemed” when before the Lord Himself or about God to others, for our expressions to be genuine and heartfelt we must know God as a Person. Knowing God has to do with reading His written Word faithfully, having regular conversations with God, and having put Him to the test enough times by faith when we needed His help that we have come to know that we know that we know that He can be trusted.
And this brings us to what this psalmist has to say next:

† 1 Chronicles 16:10 ... let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. 11 Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually (constantly, regular daily sacrifice). . . 12 Remember (zakar: mark as to be recognized, make it something to be remembered, think on, mention) his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; 13 O ye seed of Israel his servant, ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones. 14 He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth. 15 Be ye mindful (zakar) always of his covenant (a cutting involving the blood of an innocent victim, a compact [a legally spiritual contract); the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. . .

“Be ye mindful always of His covenant”
As you have heard moments ago, it is by our history and experience with God, by knowing His written Word and in having a personal relationship with Him through Jesus, that we can “remember” not only His marvelous works, wonders, and judgments found throughout the Word but perhaps even more important is our remembering also the experiences that God has brought us personally through.
And then there is what the writer says next in 1 Chronicles 16:15 ...
“Be ye mindful always of His covenant” with you! Understanding the word covenant is to understand this: Covenant (a cutting involving the shedding of the blood of an innocent victim, it establishes a compact) which is a legal spiritual contract between God and you and me and all that have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Be ye mindful (“remember”!): zakar -- mark as to be recognized [mark it down and don’t forget what Jesus did at the cross for you], make it something to be remembered [and never forgotten], think on it, mention it to yourself and to others also.

† Ephesians 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. [Remember and be mindful of this your eternity-changing fact often!]

† 2 Corinthians 1:19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. 20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

† 2 Corinthians 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. 7: 1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, [in remembering and being ever mindful] let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

† 2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises[by the blood established covenant when you asked to be washed clean of your sins by the blood of the innocent victim, the Son of God]: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

We have every reason to express all that David’s psalm instructs us about as redeemed ones and no excuse
to be neglectful of God’s daily mercy and grace.
What have we covered so far in these three discussions?

† 1 Chronicles 16:8 Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. 9 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works. 10 Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. 11 Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually. 12 Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth. . . 14 He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth. 15 Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. . .